Applying highlights in hair is one of the most common hairstyling salon practices when one wants to liven up or enhance one's hair, emphasizing a certain color with respect to another to make it more interesting and attractive. It basically consists of applying bleach or dye directly to the hair distributed in locks spread out in the desired region to give the desired enhancement or color.
It is generally appropriate to dye or bleach only the locks of hair on the outermost layer which are the ones that are seen. Nevertheless, the liquid dye or bleach tends to penetrate all the hair, so it is not uncommon for it to reach the underlying hair that is not meant to be treated.
Therefore, even though this practice may in principle seem simple, professional hairstylists and others who have tried to give someone else or themselves highlights admit that it is necessary to be extremely familiar with the technique in order to obtain a truly professional result.
The three most well-known techniques for applying hair highlights are: comb-in highlights, cap highlights and foil highlights. The choice of one technique or another depends on the desired highlight thickness, highlight distribution and hair length, and each one has its own advantages and drawbacks.
Comb-in highlights are used for very fine and superficial highlights. To that end, dye or highlighting liquid is usually applied to the tip of a comb that is subsequently passed through several locks, one at a time, and time is given to the liquid to act before the hair is washed again. With this method it is not feasible to make too many highlights because when the individual locks are covered with liquid, it is easy for part of that liquid to be transferred to portions of adjacent hair that one does not want to dye or bleach.
To facilitate the task of applying comb-in highlights, several tools have emerged, such as that disclosed in utility model ES103272-U, which describes a device for distributing dye and a tool combined for applying highlights in the hair, which a hairstylist forms by making locks of hair according to different layers. The device comprises a body for distributing dye and a tool combined with the first for applying highlights.
Another example of a device is the one disclosed in patent ES2171914-T3, consisting of a comb comprising a rod from one of the sides of which there extends a plurality of parallel prongs, wherein the rod is hollow and communicated with a reservoir for a viscous liquid to be applied to the hair, and fluid-containing little wells which are laterally open on only one side, each one in the junction between two prongs. Each fluid-containing little well is defined by a hole in the rod to which fluid is supplied from the rod of the comb. The prongs of the comb are separated to provide a plurality of wider spacings at their distal ends and narrower spacings at their root ends, the wider spacings being able to receive the locks to be treated, each narrower spacing communicating with a fluid-containing little well.
In the cap highlights, the hair is usually brushed from front to back before placing a plastic cap provided with a series of small holes uniformly distributed all over its surface and the cap is tied under the chin to fix it to the head. The hairstylist introduces a crochet needle through each hole to hook a lock of hair and pull it out through the hole. The highlights will be more or less chunky depending on the amount of hair that is hooked. The locks of hair pulled out in this manner and isolated from the rest of the hair remaining under the cap are then subjected to treatment with bleach or dye, and the product is left to act so that the color change effect takes place. After a suitable period of time, according to the desired highlight tonality, the cap is taken off and the entire head is washed to remove the bleach. The bleaching or lightening, whichever is appropriate, is completed by adding a pigment.
Since in this technique the hair must first be brushed from front to back, there is a considerable amount of hair under the cap that keeps the cap separated from the scalp and makes it difficult for the treatment to reach the hair roots, there being several millimeters that go untreated and therefore given an unkempt result. On the other hand, the hair underlying the hair that is on top can be from a different area of the head, and added to the fact that the hairstylist cannot see through the cap, it is difficult to control exactly what part of the hair is being subjected to treatment. Another drawback to be taken into account is that vast experience and care are required for introducing the crochet needle without hurting the scalp, and in the regions surrounding the ears, which are also are covered by the cap and hidden from the view of the hairstylist, in addition to the discomfort and even certain pain caused in the person when the cap is removed after the treatment time has elapsed.
The foil technique consists of maintaining a strip of aluminum foil under the hair to be subjected to treatment. Firstly, a portion of hair to be treated or dyed is separated from the rest and combed, and it is worked by known techniques, for example successively moving a crochet needle or a tool with a fine and elongated end up and down for the purpose of selecting the fine locks left above the passage of the needle and these will be the locks that are subjected to treatment. The plurality of fine locks selected from the chosen portion is tensed with one hand, and a strip of aluminum foil is held thereunder against the scalp, making sure that the edge of the strip is as close as possible to the roots of the selected locks. Then the bleach, dye or other product suitable for changing hair color is applied with a brush to the plurality of locks isolated in this manner and placed on the strip of foil. After that, the free lower end of the strip of aluminum foil is folded or rolled towards the head until it is separated from the next portion of hair that has to be subjected to treatment. The sides of the strip are also folded inwards to form a wrapper or packet completely enclosing the locks subjected to treatment, leaving them like that for the necessary time, and the wrapper is removed after that.
Placing and keeping the strip of foil or wrapper in its place both while applying the bleaching or dyeing agent during the process of action of said agent is not easy and is extremely tedious. Any movement of the head of the person being subjected to treatment or any carelessness on the part of the hairstylist can lead to splashes or the formation of dotting or bleaching in unwanted regions. Furthermore, it is not simple when the person with the many wrappers in his/her head is placed under a dryer to accelerate the bleaching process because any movement can make one or some of the wrappers slide out of their position and ruin the desired effect. Another drawback is that since the locks are wrapped in foil, the hairstylist has to partially undo the wrapper to check the degree of bleaching acquired during the wait time. As indicated, the process is long and tedious and uniformity of all the highlights is not assured because the hairstylist is usually more tired with the last applications and will most likely unwittingly vary the thickness of the highlights when working the hair prior to applying the product.
It would therefore be desirable to have a device that allowed applying highlights in hair in a simple and quick manner, achieving a satisfactory result regardless of the hairstylist's skill.